Tool holders that attach to conventional plastic buckets and other like containers, including common five-gallon utility buckets, are well known and popular in the marketplace. Professional tradespeople and homeowners alike purchase and use tool holders for buckets to conveniently carry, organize, and store their tools.
Existing tool holders for conventional plastic buckets fall into two main categories: fabric or leather tool holders and plastic tool holders. Fabric tool holders typically provide a multitude of pockets for carrying various sizes of tools and hardware. They wrap around the outside of a bucket, providing storage capacity on the bucket's exterior, or they drape over the rim of a bucket and provide storage capacity on the bucket's exterior and interior. Plastic tool holders typically take the form of: 1) inserts that fit inside a bucket; or 2) clip-on devices that attach to the rim of the bucket.
Conventional fabric and leather tool organizers are difficult to clean if they become soiled, are subject to wear, cuts, and tears, that impact storage capacity and durability, are not well suited to prolonged exposure to moisture and climatic extremes, or to chemicals and other substances that are associated with many tasks undertaken by tradespeople, homeowners, and hobbyists, including painting, masonry, gardening, fishing, and many other activities. They are not designed for easy removal from a bucket and they do not function well independent of a bucket. They may become ungainly and difficult to carry when loaded, with tools stored in the exterior pockets dangling outward and prone to unwanted contact with walls, doorways, and other surfaces, as well as potentially injurious contact with the person carrying the bucket.
Conventional plastic tool organizer inserts provide no storage capacity on the bucket's exterior. They provide a top-down only view of stored contents, which can obscure tools or hardware as they are needed and prove inconvenient to use, particularly systems that use stackable trays.
Conventional plastic tool holders that clip on the rim of a bucket typically attach high on a bucket, with a container or containers sitting at or near the bucket rim, creating a high center of gravity that is unsuited to holding a significant quantity or variety of tools, as the weight of the tools tend to destabilize the bucket and cause it to tip over. They are typically made for a single use, such as holding a paint brush, and are not adapted for a multitude of tools. They can interfere with the movement of the bucket handle, which can hinder handle operation and compromise access to the tool holder, and they also do not function well independent of a bucket.
Each of these existing devices are limited in their usefulness in various ways. They are generally large, bulky devices and take up significant space when not in use. They also make inefficient use of space within a bucket's interior.